Within walking distance of Omaha’s Old Market, featuring “unique shops, boutiques, pubs, restaurants and entertainment in a historic neighborhood. Shop bookstores to bakeries, art galleries to antiques, clothing to collectibles, then dine in one of more than 30 area restaurants. Accessible.” (Taken from www.visitomaha.com.)

Perks for our guests include:

Complimentary parking in attached garage

Complimentary wireless internet service in guestrooms and meeting space

Complimentary airport and local shuttle

Reservation Information:

The hotel is ready for reservations via phone at 800-222-TREE (8733), or by calling the hotel directly at 402-346-7600 (Attendees must mention “ARSL” for the $99 conference rate)

Wish this was a different date. These are the same dates as MPLA, South Dakota Library Assoc. and North Dakota Library Assoc. Tri-conference in Sioux Falls, SD. Can dates for future years be posted earlier so this type of conflict doesn’t happen?

ARSL has been working over the last several years to get a five year schedule for our annual conference. The Conference Committee is hard at work getting commitments for the next several years. We intend to announce the cities for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 in late winter, with dates by next summer. We were aware of a few scheduling conflicts this year, but were unable to secure a hotel contract for a better time. We are sorry we were unable to avoid MPLA and hope you will be able to attend a future conference.

TEI Landmark Audio has been a distributor of audiobooks to the library market for over 20 years and is considered a leader in the industry. We are acutely aware of the monetary constraints faced by the public library sector and the challenges small and rural libraries face trying to keep up with new formats and technologies while working to stay on budget and satisfy a wide variety of patron interest and needs.

I had the good fortune to be able to speak at a conference in Michigan earlier this year, offering advice and tips on collecting and managing audiobook collections, including, but not limited to the following topics;
• Lease or Purchase?
• Shelf-Ready or In-House Processing?
• Cost Saving Purchase Opportunities
• Advantages and Pitfalls of Standing Order Programs
• Building a Relationship with Your Vendor
• CD Audiobooks and Downloadables… Maximizing Patron Capture

We will be attending the 2013 conference as a vendor, however we would appreciate the chance to lead a break-out session regarding the preceding topic as well. We have a wealth of information to share and perspectives that many librarians may not be aware of but could potentially benefit from.

I understand that if offered the opportunity to speak at the conference that this occasion would not be a “commercial” for the company for which I work, but rather a broad stroke presentation offering a professional opinion as to how to best invest in and manage audiobook programs.

Tentatively titled Maximizing Your CD Audiobook Collection (Yes, It’s Still Relevant!) this breakout session includes a PowerPoint presentation, non-branded handouts, a question and answer session and swag-bag to each attendee of the presentation. Lively and informative, we feel this seminar could be an excellent addition to your conference sessions and we would appreciate the opportunity to participate while supporting the cornerstone of our business, the Public Library System.